Banjo.



D. L. DAY.

BANJO.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. s, 1908.

Patented Ju1y 27, 1909.

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v lM/rzmhmg- ImITED STATES PATENT oFFIcE.

DAVID L. DAY, OF REVERE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE VEGA COMPANY, OFBOSTON,

MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORACIION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

BANJO.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAYID L. DAY, of Re- Vere, in the county of Su'folkand State of Massachusetts, a citizen of the United States, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Banjos, of which the followingis a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, inexplaining its nature.

My invention relates to an improved means for stretching and retainingthe head of a banjo whereby its tone .is improved.

It will be understood that the mode of retaining the head of a banjoconstitutes an important element in determining its tone efficiency. Thecommon expedient employed for stretching and retaining the head consistsof clamps independently secured to the shell of the banjo by means ofbolts passing through the shell and secured by nuts on the insidethereof. The inexpediency of this mode of fastening resides, as I havedetermined, in the fact that every hole made in the shell of the banjodetracts from its tone value. Then again, the wood of which the shell ismade is extremely susceptible to atmospheric changes which cause theshell to shrink or expand whereby it is made to become a somewhatunstable fixture for the clamp-retaining bolts and causes an insecurityor rather looseness in the fastenings for retaining the head and injuresthe banjo, causing it to sound with a dry, metallic tone.

The practice formerly employed was to retain the head by securing itsstretching and retaining clamps to an outside body casing or guardsecured to the shell of the banjo by turning in the ends of the casingover the top and bottom edges of the shell. When the shell shrunk, as itwas likely to do under cer tain atmospheric conditions, the casingbecame loosely supported, with the e'fect that such mode of fasteningwas found to be impracticable and 'so abandoned by makers of first-classinstruments.

It is accordingly the object of my invention to provide a mode offastening which will leave the shell of the banjo intact; which willprovide a common stable fixture of support for all the clamps forstretching and retaining the head, and which support will connect withor be mounted upon the wooden shell of the banjo so as to be practicallyim- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 6, 1908.

Patented July 27, 1909.

Serial No. 414,463.

pervious to changes in the shell caused by atmospheric conditions.

My invention can best be seen and understood by reference to thedrawings, in which Figure 1 shows in vertical cross section the body ofa banjo fitted with my improved means of fastening. Fig. 2 shows invertical cross section an enlarged detail thereof.

Referring to the drawings :A represents the wooden shell furnishing themain portion of'the body of the banjo. On this is mounted a ring a Thisring its into an annular incision or groove a cut in the upper edge ofthe shell. On the ring a is mounted a band wire a Turning inover thiswire and extending down alongside the ring a and partly onto the side ofthe wooden shell, is an annular guard a (1 represents the head of thebanjo which extends over the annular edge formed by the guard a andturns down alongside this guard. On the down-turned edge of the head issecured an annular boss of by which the head may be stretched and heldtightly in place. Adapted to bear against this boss is a ring oi. Thisis drawn against the boss at for stretching and retaining the head bymeans of a series of clamps a which extend through clamp members orbrackets o to which the clamps are adjustably secured by means ofclamping nuts a. The clamp members a holding the clamps are secured to ahoop a by means of screws a" passing through from the inner side of thehoop and fastening into the respective clamp members. The hoop acomprises an annular metal band that fits snugly around the wooden shellclear of the ends thereof and which shell, also, at the point where itre ceives the bearing of the hoop is incised in such a manner as toprovide a shoulder a against which the upper edge of the hoop is adaptedto bear. it is obvious that upon tightening the clamping nuts the headof the banjo may be stretched and held tightly in place.

With respect to the hoop to which the clamp-retaining brackets aresecured and which when the clamps are tightened is adapted to drawagainst the annular shoulder (1 formed on the shell, attention is firstcalled to the fact that this hoop furnishes a unitary support for allthe brackets without boring holes through the Wooden shell. l heimproved support for the brackets being unitary, any distortion orchange in the shape of the shell due to atmospheric conditions, Were itto affect the clamps at all, Would not affect a portion of them but allof them uniformly inasmuch as it must affect them through the hoop withwhich all the clamps connect. In fact, any change or distortion in theWooden shell would not appreciably affect the hoop and clamps so as toaffect the tone of the instrument for the reason that the lateralshrinkage or expansion of the shell would have no e'llect on thehoophwhile if the shell were to be longitudinally ex panded orcontracted the only portion thereof which Would atl'ect the hoop wouldbe the portion included between the shoulder (L13 against Which the hoopis hearing and the upper edge of the shell. By reason of thisconstituting so small a portion of the shell and by reason, also, thatthe lower edge of the shell is left free for its longitudinal expansionor contraction, any change in the shell would have no appreciable eh'ectupon the hoop and connecting clamps.

A banjo fitted With the mode of fastening described for stretching andretaining the head develops and maintains under all conditions tones notonly of great brilliancy and ring but also tones that are resonant andsustaining, full of volume and of great carrying power.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States 1. In a banjo, the combination ofa shell, a hoop fitting snugly around said shell clear of the top andbottom ends thereof, a head and means for stretching and retaining saidhead from said hoop.

2. In a banjo, the combination of a Wooden shell having a shoulderformed thereon, a ring mounted on the end of said shell, a headextending over said ring, clamps for stretching and retaining said head,a hoop snugly embracing said shell clear of the ends thereof and bearingagainst said shoulder formed thereon, and means for retaining saidclamps from said ring.

DAVID L. DAY. In presence of JOHN E. R. HAYES, M. E. FLAHERTY.

